Thursday, May 25, 2006

My Rules

I've been back a total of a few days, and already Lucas is complaining about my attitude. So let me make explicit the rules that I am operating under this time around on my blog.

First Rule: I have decided to use my own blog as a site of cheerful and enthusiastic provocation (ah, yes, the irony that I would use that word). My new stylistic idol is Tom Peters, whose book Re-Imagine! is innovative, energetic, and blunt. I plan to float new ideas, reshape old ones, and try to think outside the box. It is my hope that others will join me in building on and tinkering with those ideas -- consider them first drafts. As Isaac over at Parabasis writes in "Moving Forward," apparently in response to my "Irrelevance 2.0" post, "We don't really know how to build anything positive or new, and rather than learn to do so or endeavor to create, we tear each other down." I am always amazed at how quickly people use comments boxes to attack, dismiss, or find fault with what has been written. Which leads me to my...

Second Rule: I am only going to contribute comments on other blogs if I can add to or build on what was written -- no more snarky dismissals.

So, while I don't expect anyone else to follow these rules, this is where I am coming from. Had the first response to my post about pre-show ads been about ways such an idea might be tweaked to make it more palatable, we might have had an exciting conversation -- which I assume is what we all want. Instead, the first things were attacks. Isaac is making a good point.

Now, that said, I intend my style on my OWN blog to be energetic and blunt. If that is a style that annoys you, then vote with your browser and skip my posts. I'd rather have that than snarks in my comments.

4 comments:

Art said...

Hi Scott,

The question of theatrical independenceis an important one.

My posted my observation on my blog this morning.

http://mirroruptolife.blogspot.com/2006/05/delusion-of-most-theatre-artists-i.html

My idea is not how far your politics or ethics extends past the apron of the theatre, I really am concentrating on how far your art extends past the apron of the theatre.

I posted on George's comment section about the idea of the theatre being able to extend into the enviornment even farther than the ticket booth.

Anonymous said...

I'm joining this late, but where have you been???

Unknown said...

scott, it's a rare occasion that i post in anyone's comments section, as i really don't want to be a part of any frays. Suffice it to say that i'm happy you're back, as you and freeman tend to be the loci of bloggers that think and speak in terms that make sense to me.

I thought I would toss something out to you and let you play provocateur with it. I'd love to get your slant on it. it tends to be full of ideas that insist that theater create an identity that, shall we say, is culturally relevant?
It makes some people mighty angry, but i think you just might like it.

check it out: http://www.cineinitiatives.net

cheers
peabody

Scott Walters said...

Anonymous -- I stopped writing for a month due to burnout and the end of the semester. I'm rested and back -- thanks for asking.

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